In this article, I will discuss the currently trendy topic of quadrupeds, who they are, and where they came from.
Quadrupeds are people, primarily children and teenagers, who imitate the behavior of animals. These can be various animals, but usually, they are domestic pets like cats and dogs. The term "quadruped" comes from the combination of the Latin word "quattuor" meaning four, and "aerobics." Quadrupeds often mimic not only the behavior of these animals but also their appearance. For example, they choose clothing that matches the color of their chosen animal and use tails and masks. There is a lot of information online about who they are, but let's try to figure out where quadrupeding originated.
Quadrupeding began in Japan in 2008 when sprinter Kenichi Ito set a record by covering 100 meters on all fours in less than 19 seconds. After extensive training, he made it back into the Guinness World Records by breaking his own record with a time of 15.71 seconds. In 2022, American Colin McClure broke the Japanese record, completing the distance in 15.66 seconds.
As a trend, quadrupeding started to develop in the United States, where it has roots in another subculture known as "furry." Furries are individuals who are interested in animals that behave like humans, meaning creatures that possess human traits, such as walking on two legs, speaking, and so on. Another distinction is that furries position their animal persona solely as a character.
It is important not to confuse quadrupeding with hobbyhorsing. Participants in hobbyhorsing imitate horse riding while holding a stick with a toy horse head attached to it. In hobbyhorsing, participants often create game scenarios and their own competitions, mimicking horse racing. Similar to hobbyhorsing, quadrupeding can also be a potentially dangerous activity, if not a sport, then certainly a form of entertainment. The danger lies in the fact that it somewhat resembles parkour, meaning that the human body is not designed to perform various tricks on all fours while moving. This can lead to various sprains, dislocations, and bruises.
Currently, quadrupeds have made their way to Eastern Europe, although the trend for quadrupeding has been declining in both the United States and Japan for quite some time.
